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Welcome to the Hye Thyme Cafe. Although not all of my recipes are Armenian, the name is a little nod to my Armenian grandmother who is no longer with us. The Hye refers to all things related to her homeland, and she represents all things food-related to me, so the two just seemed to go together. I can't even claim that my Armenian recipes are truly Armenian, since Greece, Turkey, Armenia, Lebanon, Syria, and even Egypt share so many foods that they've all sort of morphed into one over thousands of years.

Whether you like to cook, bake, have never done either, or just like to play with your food...come on in and join me! :)

Friday, December 28, 2012

White Trash Cookies with Almonds and Fresh Cranberries

When I was living in New Orleans, a representative from Charles Chips would come by the office to take orders and make deliveries. On one of his visits, he introduced me to White Trash. The version they sold was clusters of white chocolate with pretzel pieces, but I have since seen other versions of White Trash that include nuts, candies, and even cereal.

On the holidays, everyone requests their favorite cookie - Christmas Sugar Cookies for one, Andes Candies Cookies for another, Chocolate Biscotti, Gingerbread, etc. It's also a time for trying out new cookies though, since we don't bake a lot of random sweets during the year. When we do, it's usually for some occasion or event where you wouldn't want to "experiment." On a holiday, at least if one item is a bust, there are plenty of other goodies to pick up the slack.

I have had a few bags of cranberries in the freezer for a while now, having anticipated using them at Thanksgiving. I had also been munching on a big bag of pretzel squares, so that got my gears turning about what I wanted to try for a new cookie this year.

I have to confess that when I first tried one of these, I wasn't crazy about them. They had very little flavor to me. I ended up setting aside some for Christmas and took some to the office, along with other goodies, for a holiday luncheon. There were only a few leftover from the luncheon, and because nobody would be around the office to eat them over the holiday, I brought them home with me.

I didn't think of the cookies again until the day after Christmas, when I noticed the container with the few I had brought home from the office. For some reason, I ate one and thought hmmmm, that's not how I remember them?! [I ended up eating 3 - shhhh!] Where they were crisp and blah to me initially, they were now slightly chewy and sweet, and I could definitely discern the different ingredients. Maybe my taste buds were shot on the day I made them from making/tasting spaghetti sauce, meatballs, etc. at the same time. I might have to sneak over to my sister's house to see if there are any left there from Christmas. ;)